What We Do

Foster Education Innovation.Birdsong Farm identifies and makes
strategic investments in promising new ideas that improve the educational
outcomes of children and youth placed in foster care; best practices that are shared with schools
across the region and the nation. We are committed to education reform, action
research and helping students develop a love of life-long learning.

In addition, we seek to leverage resources
throughout the region by developing a compelling menu of engagement options
with colleges, universities, businesses, non-profits and interested citizens to
improve the educational outcomes of our children and youth placed in foster
care.

Develop Conditions for Collaborative Social Change.Birdsong Farm partners with regional
stakeholders to create the best environment for education reform. It conducts
research that supports educational equity, advances innovative solutions, and
engages educators, mental health professionals, colleges, universities, child
welfare professionals and community members interested in creating
collaborative and sustainable social change.

Birdsong Farm understands that no single agency or
organization can ensure educational success for all students placed in foster
care. Birdsong Farm's vision requires leveraging people, dollar and idea
resources to create sustainable investment in innovation and the creation of
best practices. Therefore, it is collaborating with others to develop on-site
education advocacy systems, a new research-based and data-driven model designed
to ensure disadvantaged children receive the opportunities they need to succeed
in school. These systems:

Each Birdsong Farm partner will assume responsibility for
part of the Birdsong Farm collaborative education/advocacy approach.

Geographic
Region Being Served: Birdsong Farm will serve children and youth placed in
foster care in towns and cities
throughout southeastern MA, including Attleboro, Brockton, Bridgewater
and Taunton. At full enrollment Birdsong Farm will serve students in Grades Pre-K
through 12.

Birdsong Farm Principles: Trauma
Sensitive Learning Environments:

At Birdsong
Farm we understand the importance of creating trauma sensitive learning
environments for students who have experienced challenging beginnings.

Children affected
by trauma may or may not see school as a safe haven or "different
place" than the one where they experienced a trauma. The significance of trauma is that educators
may not be aware that a student is learning or responding under a trauma response.

Behaviors, learning
patterns or social skills may be misinterpreted or mislabeled. Traumatized
children are vulnerable; teachers are the critical link to intervention with
sensitivity and awareness.

Best practices
create an environment where students can learn in a safe and positive
environment. At Birdsong Farm trauma sensitive practice is a must for every
educator's toolkit.

Trauma has profound
effects on a child's ability to participate and process the regular school day.
At Birdsong Farm we are creating a learning environment that is safe,
predictable and experiential; one that
offers students an array of supports and opportunities to engage in a
curriculum full of ……

At Birdsong Farm,
educators have an opportunity to support their students in non-traditional ways
and advocate on behalf of their students with trauma sensitive practice and
awareness.

Common Elements of Trauma Sensitive Schools:

Comprehensive professional development for teachers & other staff

A team of school/district personnel to assess individual student cases

Expanded counseling services

On-site support services

Parent and family workshops on the effects of trauma

Conflict resolution training for both teachers and students

Consultations with local hospitals, mental health facilities, women's shelters, and other community based organizations

Regional support for establishing a trauma sensitive learning environment

Academic instruction techniques for teaching traumatized students

Development of school policies to be more trauma sensitive

Equal Opportunity: There is no
greater need in education than to give every student the opportunity and
resources to succeed. Quality education for all individuals is the primary way
to create a more socially just society and help ensure that all of our children
in America have the opportunity to thrive educationally.

Achievement: Birdsong
Farm students will be given opportunities to become literate, active, self
aware, prepared to succeed in higher education, able to determine and attain
their personal goals, and capable of serving as positive role models and
inspirational leaders.

Year-Round Learning Community Model: Students
who have experienced foster care benefit from participating in a year-round
learning curriculum designed to help them attain the same level of educational
success that their peers who have not been placed in our child welfare system
achieve. To that end, Birdsong Farm will provide students with 12 month full
service programming.